A hard working striker with flowing blonde hair, Tynan was signed as an apprentice for Liverpool by manager Bill Shankly after winning a talent contest run by the Liverpool Echo newspaper, but he never made a first-team appearance for the Reds,[3] and was transferred to Sheffield Wednesday in 1976, where he spent two years and scored 31 goals.
He was a member of the side which reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup in 1984, scoring the goal which beat then top flight West Bromwich Albion in the fifth round of the competition.
In the 1984/85 season, Tynan was joint top scorer in all 4 divisions of the Football League with 31 goals, level with Tranmere's John Clayton.
However, Tynan rejoined Argyle in early 1986, initially on loan, as the club pushed for promotion to the second tier.
[3] He previously wrote a regular column about Argyle for local newspaper, the Plymouth Evening Herald.